Barometric Leveling Analysis

Barometric leveling, a fast and relatively inexpensive surveying technique used for determining elevations of ground stations to an accuracy of ± 3-5 ft, is a valuable tool for use in reconnaissance surveys or other similar surveys where great accuracy is not required. Elevation data were gathered for preselected ground stations using four different barometric leveling techniques, single base, double base, triple base, and leap frog. The main differences in these four methods lie only in the amount of time and equipment required and in the sophistication of the field procedures used. The data collected are analyzed to determine whether the increases in office and field time is rewarded by a corresponding increase in the accuracy of the results obtained. Figures and graphs indicate that the more sophisticated methods do indeed yield more accurate results, but that the slight increases in accuracy may not compensate for the added time and equipment required to obtain them.